


Rainbow

by RickGrimes



Series: A Collection of Grimescest Drabbles & Crack [3]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: 8x08 hurt me, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crack, F/M, Incest, M/M, Parent/Child Incest, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 09:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13027932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RickGrimes/pseuds/RickGrimes
Summary: Everything is black and white...except your soulmate. Rick thinks he's found his when he meets Lori, a glowing woman more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen.





	Rainbow

Rick met Lori shortly after high school. It was fun and fast. That's how it always was when one met their soulmate. Everyone craved it from the time they could speak, or, even more accurately, from the time they could see. The people whose parents were nice enough to let them in the secret searched.

Everyone wanted the absolute love and partnership they witnessed around them. How could they not? Unwavering devotion and commitment was impossible to turn away from.

Of course there were some who refused to be attached so definitively to one person, or to have their futures dictated to them. They hindered their vision with blindfolds, or in extreme cases, took their own sight. Other extremists on the spectrum spent thousands of dollars travelling the world in hopes of glimpsing their soulmates. Some people never found one.

Oppositely, others born without sight craved to know. To feel the certainty associated with finding the love of their life.

 

Rick remembered being a child. He understood vague notions of the soulmate concept. He knew his parents were in love. Everyone around him was. He'd asked his mom, "How do you know? How do you know Dad was the one?"

She had smiled, "You'll know, sweetheart. Trust me. I'm not going to spoil it for you. You're just a child. You don't need to be worried about finding anyone just yet."

"What if I just ask Dad?" Rick asked defiantly.

"We agreed to let you discover on your own."

Rick hadn't been able to suggest his next course of action because she was prepared.

"And don't get any ideas, mister. Nobody but your parents are allowed to tell you. It's the law."

Rick pouted, "Can you tell me anything? How long will I have to wait to meet my wife?"

"You're 10 years old, hon. It took me until I was 20. It's different for everyone."

"Okay," Rick accepted. He could wait. It would be worth it to have a relationship like his parents'. To have a child. A family.

 

When he saw Lori for the first time, he knew exactly what his mom had meant. She glowed. It was different from anything he'd ever seen his entire life. Rick had no words to explain it. She had a tinge to her. She pulsated. He knew the constant black, white, and grey he always saw. She wasn't any of those. She was all shades and tones. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He stared at her in the middle of the street like an idiot. Passersby looked on knowingly, smiling and congratulating him. She stared back at him as if she was seeing for the first time. Startled. Teary eyed.

"What do you see?" He asked her in wonder, approaching her slowly.

"I don't have words for it," she answered in awe, putting her hand over her mouth.

Rick wished his mom was still around. He would've given anything to share this moment with her. To tell her that he finally understood.

 

They heard from friends and family that as soon as a bond was formed, they had to go to the town hall to confirm it. They would receive instructions and more information. It was exclusive information meant to be shared on a need-to-know basis. Only coupled adults knew about it, and only parents were permitted to share the secret with children.

When Lori and Rick were legally bonded they received a congratulations and a special pamphlet that outlined their experience. They also were under strict instruction to destroy it after memorizing the information. That was it. They vowed to be together forever. They promised to purchase a home together, and on their first night in the house, they would read the pamphlet as a bonded pair.

Rick was sick with anticipation. He'd been waiting for these answers half his life.

They flipped through the pamphlet with keen interest.

There were special squares that weren't like anything either of them had ever seen. They were a strange material. There were words that neither of them had read before.

"Colour?" Rick sounded out. He held up the pamphlet next to Lori. "This one matches you." He pointed to the green one.

"What's the word for yours?" She mused, looking at the paper intently. "Ah, you're orange!" She grinned.

In a way, Rick found the pamphlet even more beautiful than Lori. The paper had all the colours, and she only had one. He wasn't complaining, and obviously her swirling tones and glowing aura was more compelling than the stagnant colour cubes on the paper, but still. He couldn't imagine what it'd be like to see all of the colours at once.

"Rain. Bow," Lori said. "Rainbow," she repeated more fluidly. "That's all the colours at once. Isn't that something?"

"It's magnificent," Rick breathed. "Why can't everything be like that? It's so...Nothing's the same anymore now that I know these exist."

Lori nodded. "It's so much...it's easier the way it is. If everything was a colour, it would be too overwhelming."

Rick shrugged, "What colour do you think my shirt is?" He looked down at it.

"Everything about you is orange to me," Lori laughed.

"What if I try to turn it off?" Rick asked. He concentrated. "Any change?"

"You're less bright," she offered. "How about me?"

Rick squinted. "Nothin'. Just all green."

"What else is there?" Rick added, looking through the remaining pages of the booklet.

"Rules," Lori said. "Laws."

 

You must not reveal the soulmate acquisition process to anyone that is not your biological child.

You cannot prevent two colourmates from being together for any purpose.

You cannot reverse the bonding process.

You cannot undergo the bonging process based on a lie. Bonding counselors have a device that can confirm whether there is a colour-sight.

You must only have one colourmate at a time. If bonding with another occurs, you must report it to a bonding counselor immediately.

Upon death of a mate, you are not guaranteed a second.

The penalty for the killing of another's soulmate, intentional or accidental, is death.

 

"Wow," Rick sighed. "That's a lot. Are you done reading?"

"Yeah, I think I got it. Should we burn it?"

Rick nodded, "I'm going to read over it a few more times. Just to make sure. I'll take care of it."

Lori smiled.

 

Rick never loved Lori more than when she was pregnant. It wasn't just love at that point; it was adoration. Rick was burning with anticipation. He could not wait to see his child. Boy or girl, he didn't care. His heart was bursting with joy.

At first, Lori was glowing her normal green hue, but after a few months of pregnancy, she was vibrant. Brighter than he'd ever seen. Her abdomen was indescribably fascinating to watch. However, as she endured, the vibrancy started to fade, and Rick started to panic.

He had waited his entire life for Lori, and now her colour was gone. What did it mean? Was she going to die? Were they not soulmates anymore? Rick was dying to know if the colour she perceived on him had changed at all. Was he still orange? He couldn't bear to ask her in fear of worrying her. He wanted both her and the baby to be safe. He kept it inside. Although she was no longer coloured, she had an aura of light around her. He figured that had to mean something. Maybe it was a pregnancy thing.

When Rick watched Carl being born, he fell to his knees in the hospital room. He sobbed openly, not having enough strength in him to hold Lori's hand any longer.

Even Lori wasn't as moved as him.

Rick immediately knew the word needed to describe his beautiful boy. Rainbow. Every colour in existence. A green more complex and inviting than Lori's. A deep orange that was probably more intoxicating than his own. He remembered the others he'd read in the pamphlet. Red. Blue. Yellow. Purple. There were some others that he had no names for. It seemed to be a mixture of colours. It was earth-shattering. If he had loved Lori, then he had no idea whatsoever to call the feeling he had for Carl. It was more than love. More than adoration. More than devotion. It was complete and utter devastation. He would've died a thousand times for the infant. He was so fulfilled and so taken with emotion that he didn't have it in him to feel panic or worry for the colourless Lori. He had a rainbow now.

Rick knew he was destined to be alone now. If he didn't see Lori the same way as before, then she must've experience the same thing. Did she see Carl as he did? Rick doubted it since she hadn't seemed perturbed beyond the usual at his birth. Would Carl return his love? Was he now a rainbow in the boy's eyes? Was there such thing as an unrequited colour love? Rick was terrified. Would he get in trouble with the law if he reversed the colour bonding process? That's what it said in the pamphlet, at least.

 

As Carl grew up, Rick tried to note anything strange or odd about the way the boy behaved toward him. Rick wanted to see if Carl stared at him more than others. If Carl stared at him with fascination, then Rick knew Carl loved him too. It was so frustrating that the boy couldn't speak. And Rick knew from experience, even once the boy learned words, he wouldn't have any words for what he was seeing. He wouldn't know what colour meant. He wouldn't know what it meant to see a rainbow.

Rick grew more and more frustrated as time went on. Half of his energy went to raising a newborn, and the other half to convincing Lori that nothing had changed between them. It was exhausting. All he wanted to do was hold Carl in his arms and stare at the remarkable swirls of colour and light that the boy emitted. Rick couldn't stand to be away from the child.

Rick almost broke down in tears a second time over the boy when he learned to speak in full sentences. It didn't take long for Rick to hear the indication of requited love that he'd been waiting for. "Daddy, you look funny," Carl had said.

The man had immediately rushed to Carl's side, "What do you mean?"

Carl turned his head, frowning. "I don't know. Different? Did you get new clothes or something?"

Rick squeezed his eyes shot. Disappointment surged through him. Carl didn't see him the same way. "Don't tell anyone else, Carl. Okay? Let's keep it a secret." Rick joked.

"Okay, Daddy," Carl had giggled. "Secret!"

 

When Lori confronted Rick, he barely knew what to say.

"What do you see when you look at me, Rick?"

Carl was seven now. Rick had to hand it to Lori. She'd been patient to wait so long. He had to hand it to himself. Avoiding the discussion for seven years. It was a lot.

"Don't do this," Rick sighed.

"I have a right to know," Lori said. "You haven't been the same since Carl."

"You can't blame me for loving my son," Rick argued. He knew he wasn't being fair. Lori was right, after all. She didn't deserve this.

Lori wept, "Soulmates aren't supposed to argue."

"What colour am I to you?" Rick asked.

Lori was silent. She looked at the ground.

Rick knew then that he hadn't been alone in his deception. They'd been pretending for seven years.

"When was the last time I was orange?" Rick wondered. He wasn't hurt. He was impressed.

"The last time I saw colour was when you hit the ground."

"Why did this have to happen to us?" Rick wondered. "I've never heard of this before."

"We need to go see someone," Lori said. "We don't need to do this to each other anymore. Live a lie."

Rick moved forward to embrace her. "I'm so sorry, Lori. I was so scared to tell the truth. For it to come to this."

"Me too, Rick."

 

Rick expected to get into trouble with the bonding counselor when he and Lori finally decided to admit their situation.

"This is extremely rare," the counselor explained, "But it does happen. I'm truly sorry to the both of you."

"What will happen to our son?" Rick asked immediately.

"Well, he can live with either of you, or both. Unless you'd like to continue raising him as a family unit until the boy is old enough to decide for himself."

"I think," Rick began, "I would like to raise him together. It's not fair to him to take away a parent."

"I agree," Lori nodded resolutely. "It's the best thing."

Rick knew that immediately agreeing to joint custody was the best thing for him. It meant that he would still get to be around Carl.

 

It didn't take Lori long to leave the picture.

Carl was ten when she decided to leave.

"You don't have to go," Rick argued. He wasn't pleading. He wasn't upset. He was concerned for Carl. The boy loved his mother, even if he didn't love her the most.

"There's nothing left in this house for me," Lori argued.

"You have us," Rick disagreed. "It's not the same as it was, but we're still a family."

"No, Rick. You're a family."

"He's just a boy," Rick defended Carl. "He doesn't understand."

"I thought about it a long time, you know. I wondered what it is that you have that's so special. What you have that I don't. Why my own son barely wants anything to do with me."

Rick stood before her silently.

"Then I noticed the way you stare at him. Of course you love him," Lori frowned. "But you look at him the way you used to look at me. The way I used to look at you. Except...I don't even think that comes near it."

Rick looked away.

"How could Carl love me when I'm competing against you? You see colour on him. I know you do," Lori shouted.

"He doesn't see it on me," Rick whispered. "I get nothing out of this."

Lori was sympathetic for a moment. "I'm sorry to do this. I really am, but I'm not strong enough to stay here. To watch him love you more than me every goddamn day. To watch you devote every waking minute to him. And, strangely enough, I'm sad for you. Sad that you care so much and that you'll never get it in return. You're going to be awful lonely, Rick."

Rick wanted to argue, but she was right. What she didn't realize was that he loved Carl so much that it didn't matter if the boy hated him or never loved him in the same capacity. Being around Carl was enough for him. Making the boy happy was enough for him. He didn't need requital even if that would've been a dream.

"Goodbye," Lori shrugged finally.

 

Rick missed her. Obviously he still cared for her. He hadn't stopped loving her the instant her colour disappeared. Emotions didn't work like that. He was sad that Carl didn't have a mother anymore, but how could he blame Lori. Carl wasn't shy about his preference for Rick, and if it had been the opposite, Rick would've been devastated.

 

When Carl was 14, Rick heard the most exceptional and, simultaneously, the most terrifying words he'd ever heard.

"Dad," Carl started, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Hmm?" Rick wondered, eyes on the glass of water he had just poured.

"I finally figured out the word. Why you look funny," Carl smiled.

Rick's grip on the glass slipped and it fell to the floor. It didn't shatter, but the water splashed, and the cup bounced around on the floor.

Rick turned around to face Carl slowly, ignoring the fallen glass.

"What do you mean?" Rick tried.

"You're a rainbow," Carl said with wonder.

Rick's jaw slackened, and he met Carl's eyes. "You see colour when you look at me?" Rick asked in disbelief.

Carl nodded excitedly. "Yeah. I didn't...I didn't have the words before. I didn't want to say anything. You told me to keep it a secret. But...I kind of went looking for answers."

Rick frowned. All this time, Carl had known. All this time, Rick could've been in on it. What irony that he had told Carl to keep it a secret as if he had known how Carl saw him...he was the only one who didn't see it.

"I found the paper in your dresser. Under the bottom drawer."

Rick huffed. "Carl, nobody can know that I have that."

"Why didn't you tell me a long time ago?" Carl looked hurt. "It says that parents can tell their children about it. You should've told me we were bonded. You let me think it was just your clothes."

"I didn't think you saw me that way," Rick shook his head. "I thought I saw your colours, but I never dreamed you could see mine. And...I don't know, Carl. I didn't know what to do."

Carl approached Rick. He licked his lips. "What does this mean now? What are we supposed to do."

Rick shook his head. "I have one idea..."

"What?" Carl asked seriously.

"I want to try something," Rick suggested. "I'm going to concentrate. Turn the rainbow off. I want you to tell me what you see."

Carl watched Rick curiously, grinning when the man came more into focus.

"Your eyes," Carl remarked. "They're blue. Your lips are light red. You...the rainbow is around you now."

"You try," Rick encouraged.

Carl concentrated, wondering what his father was seeing on him now.

"Wow," Rick shook his head. "You're... Beautiful isn't even the word."

Carl ducked his head. "Are my eyes blue too?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded. "Yeah they are."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this crack in like 2 hours. It's soooooo fucking cheesy, but I don't give a shit.
> 
> grimesobcest.tumblr.com


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